MASS ROMANTIC

oh man. almost impossible to choose.

Indeed

I mean, Letter is the answer, but there are so many killer choices here. So many.

Right

Hey, good to see you earlier, call all destroyer.

was tempted to leave 'letter from an occupant' out, because the race for what's the second best song on this record after "slow descent" is so fiercely contested

xp you too! i am chattier in real life than i am on zoom but it's great to see everyone and the conversations are always entertaining.

xp (but in the end "mass romantic" is second best)

Earlier today I was searching the archives for this exact thread because Carl was doing an AMA on twitter w/r/t this record!

Ask me questions about Mass Romantic. First person to be an asshole, I’ll shut the whole thing down.

— Carl Newman (@ACNewman) November 20, 2020

I should mention that he replies via retweet quotes so you can't follow along in that thread, so just go to his account and scroll down:

https://twitter.com/ACNewman

Cool, but didn’t seem to answer many questions, although he did respond to one about Jackie, which was good. Ah okay (xp)

xp you too! i am chattier in real life than i am on zoom but it's great to see everyone and the conversations are always entertaining.

I only knew the Larry Hagman Girl Crazy Peter Pan Mary Martin for decades but recently learned about the other Band Bob Dylan Van Morrison Leonard Cohen Mary Martin.

I have a soft spot for “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism.”

same. can't imagine why

love these guys but also . . . not funny at all

Improv scene between @jonwurster as @ACNewman & Kevin Corrigan as @ShitDBejarSays, filmed 10 years ago today for the non existstent biopic “Moves: The Rise And Rise Of @TheNewPornos” @scharpling @pulomabasu @matadorrecords @tedleo @julieklausner @APMike @MrPaulYee @AlexBrookLynn pic.twitter.com/k2YO4AqQjP

— Rob Hatch-Miller (@robhatchmiller) November 20, 2020

That’s supposed to be Bejar? *sigh*

same. can't imagine why

That video reminds that earlier this evening was waxing eloquent about pre-pandemic days of walking about NYC in particular Soho randomly encountering celebrities and Kevin Corrigan was one of the many cast members of Slums of Beverly Hills I crossed paths with.

Never listened to the 2019 album but liked the one before that.

Feels wrong not to vote for a Bejar song when I’m a destroyer head... but it’s definitely letter from an occupant right

comes down to "this boy's life among the electrical lights" vs "salvation holdout central"... leaning this boy's life but it's a tough one

I know the other guys are pretty popular in whatever scene this is but I find it hard to stay interested when neko case isn’t singing

Love all these, was telling husband about how I was obsessed with TNP and Destroyer my senior year in high school and everyone thought I was crazy lol.

It's clearly Letter, tho.

I didn't listen to this until 2004, and I could immediately hear the melodic and vocal influence of Scott Miller, which (to my knowledge) no other band had yet taken up. I didn't like any of the Bejar songs then; now that I've become a fan of his, I still don't like any of these.

The Newman songs are good-to-great except for Body Says No, but the overall effect is overcaffeinated. Only the intro of Fake Headlines works as a breather from the powerpop overload; they'd get better at album sequencing with Electric Version. I guess at this point they were trying to grab the listener's attention with as much extroversion as they could manage.

I voted for Slow Descent into Alcoholism, but I hope Centre for Holy Wars gets a vote.

i like the idea that there's a ton of viable choices here cos tbf there is a ton of viable choices here and i won't even call all the cunts that don't vote for "My Slow Descent" cunts tho i might because fuck you, you cunts, but gareth david "The Slow Descent" is the kill tune despite the obviousness of my affection

FYI
New Pornographers lyrics

lots of deserved accolades for “slow descent,” “letters,” and the title track, but “body says no” arguably has the biggest hook.

also have soft spots for “holy war” and “execution day.” this was really a high watermark for indie, wasn’t it?

High point for me is neko’s wailing on the chorus of occupant

i would like to boringly accept all the wrong votes for this amazing album that aren't votes for "Slow Descent"

High point for me is neko’s wailing on the chorus of occupant

i spent a long time thinking about the supergroup shit that was bands that i didn't know about but totally made sense of the way people perceived this rekkid and elucidate people's choices but also my slow descent

into FUCK ALL Y'ALL i went

also i like the i don't know angry daftness

y'know it was all a steep downhill form here?

title track is very very real

I love Slow Descent, but the way Neko wails "WHERE HAVE ALL SENSATIONS GOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNE" slays me in every possible way.

<3 i'm slapping fives with everybody who thinks neko is the keystone

cos she is even when it's not her on the lead

"To Wild Homes" is one of the better FM-Tusk(album) tributes ever made.

my challopsy take is that I love Neko but prefer her more polished vox on the later albums

there are a lot of very good tracks on this list also gtf

also into alcoholism i went

Is it wrong to register a wee complaint about the production on this album?

i'm not a production guy but i get there's a wonkiness

uh-huh

being a dick aside this is one of my favourite randonm sooper-groop indie kids records

mah mah mah mah slow dissent

SALVATION HOLD OUT CINTRAL

I love this band (although I don't seem to have listened to anything they released after 2010, oops) but never been able to get into any of their other bands, Destroyer, Zumpano, Neko Case solo etc. nothing has grabbed me. Sum greater than parts for me I guess.

i gHear you GColonel

also i gAgree

i mean this gAlbum murders everything it's constituent parts gRecorded

except pissably gNeko

gBoys gBoys gBoys

I saw New Pornographers on the Brill Bruisers tour and they played almost entirely songs from the first 3 albums. Maybe a song or two each from the others.

Reductionist snark: Bejar's fine if that's what you're looking for. I like pop tunes.

He wins for better beard, though.

Bejar’s NP songs are awesome AND they get along just fine without him. I’ve said this in another thread but I think Whiteout Conditions ranks among their best. And the one from last year is pretty good too.

probably time for me to dig into the post-Challengers era records.

Bejar's fine if that's what you're looking for. I like pop tunes.

yes but the thing is he provides the band with many of their best pop tunes

probably time for me to dig into the post-Challengers era records.

― A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Chooglin (will), Wednesday, November 25, 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Whiteout Conditions>>>>Brill Bruisers>>In the Morse Code>>>Together

Have barely heard the last two but tend to agree.

I generally have more tolerance for Bejar on the later albums; when I listen to Mass Romantic or Electric Version I gotta get used to that dude braying at me.

I will say his voice has mellowed significantly.

another nude descends the staircase to get fucked

NB: Destroyer in Chapel Hill last March was my last pre-COVID show.

In the Morse Code was the first/only NP record that did absolutely nothing for me.

That's how I felt about Together, aside from its title track. I think I liked Morse Code because I still felt the glow of the one that came before it. And I do really like "Higher Beams"

together is the only one that i think of as a complete miss. maybe i'm making this up but i think newman was maybe not in an amazing place mentally when they were doing that one?

Yeah I revisited Together a couple of days ago and nothing really stuck out - I like every other record though. Morse Code isn't as strong as the two albums before it but it's still very good.

Bejar's "If You Can't See My Mirrors" is my fave on that one.

"crash years" is my fav neko-led song ever

oh also "sweet talk sweet talk" is such a banger come on

Just listening to Challengers and Bejar’s “Entering White Cecilia” jumped out at me. I can see why people might find his, um, tics (or “ticks,” as Xgau wrote) annoying, but to me he just has a knack for highlighting his hooks.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

oh also "sweet talk sweet talk" is such a banger come on

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, November 25, 2020 6:03 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i like this song a lot but i think the arrangement is lacking and it has this really weird abrupt ending.

hm yeah fair

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Feel like this is the wrongest fakest falsest new porno result

Tbh surprised Jackie beat out the title track and Fake Headlines.

I've also listened to this album about 40 times in the past week lol

obsessed w challengers now thank u thread

nothing but respect for my jackie-heads

this pretty much went chalk, huh

Noodle Vague going to show up and start berating us soon

"We End Up Together" is my favorite NP track post-Challengers

The New Pornographers' cover of "Breakin' The Law" is pretty underrated ITT.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, November 23, 2020 9:42 AM (three days ago)

I’d like a mash up of the title track verses w/ the Occupant chorus.

otoh i just read this thread and i love this band, these songs, all the other songs, this thread, all y'all, and the chance to listen to these songs again. hmm.

thank you all for participating

not even a big bejar fan but true to form 'execution day' has lived in my head for at least a decade

I was about to comment on how perfect the song order is ("Breakin' The Law" is a great ending and feels like a victory lap), and I just noticed on Discogs that depending on which vinyl version you may have, "Letter from an Occupant" and "To Wild Homes" swap places (last song on Side A, first song on Side B). I've only listened to the CD (like a million times), where "Letter" is first...I'll have to try swapping those two.

"Letter" first (Matador): https://www.discogs.com/The-New-Pornographers-Mass-Romantic/release/688996
"To Wild Homes" first (Matador): https://www.discogs.com/The-New-Pornographers-Mass-Romantic/release/3915032
It looks like the Mint Records vinyl releases have "To Wild Homes" first.

Thanks for this excellent POLL, mookieproof

Hm, what's going on with the different versions of "Hey, Snow White"?

Y'alll ready for some challops??!?!?!?!!?11

"Breakin' The Law" - 0 is the best song on this album

This drummer packs a wallop, sings good bg vox too.

“Mary Martin Show” deserved better seeing the turnout.

We should keep this polling on to “Electric Version”

I love that this conversation exists and wish there were more bands containing multiple songwriters of equal skill with distinctive-but-complimentary qualities

wish there were more bands containing multiple songwriters of equal skill with distinctive-but-complimentary qualities

Sloan?

^^^^^^^^^^

I mean, I love Sloan, but couldn't guess the authorship from song-to-song with much (or any) accuracy

Agree with that. I bet hardcore fans could, though.

Uncle Tupelo comes to mind. And the DBTs.

Is Rolling Blackouts this way? Or do they write everything together and just trade off lead vocals?

sloan to me are more solid workhorses than "holy shit that song" type songwriters. which is not a dis!